In others to bring our oars into the house to prevent stealing. When we c into the other room (for there was five in the house) she caused us to sit d by a great fire; and after took off our clothes and washed them, of some stockings, and some our feet in warm water, and she herself took much p to see all things well ordered, and to provide us victuals. After we had dryed ourselves, she brought us into an inner room, where she set on the bo standing along the house somewhat like frumentie, sodden venison, and ro ed fish; in like manner mellons raw, boiled roots, and fruits of divers kir Their drink is commonly water boiled with ginger, sometimes with sassaf and wholesome herbs, but whilst the grape lasteth they drink wine. More l she could not express to entertain us; they care but only to defend themsel from the short winter, and feed on what they find natural in summer. feasting house was their Idol, of whom they told us incredible things. we were at meat, two or three of her men came amongst us with their bo and arrows, which caused us to take our arms in hand. She perceiving distrust, caused their bows and arrows to be broken, and they beaten out of gate but the evening approaching we returned to our boat, whereat she mu grieving, brought our supper half boiled, pots and all, but when she saw us put our boat a little off from the shore, and lie at anchor, perceiving our je ousy, she sent divers men, and 30 women to sit all night on the shore side o against us, and sent us five mats to cover us from the rain, doing all she cou to persuade us to her house. Though there was no cause of doubt, we wou not adventure for on our safety depended the voyage; but a more kind, lo ing people cannot be. : Some Religion they have, which although it be far from the truth, yet beir as it is, there is hope it may be the easier reformed. They believe there a many gods, which they call Muntoac, but of different sorts and degrees. Als that there is one chief God, that hath been from all eternity, who, as they say when he purposed first to make the world, made first other gods of a principa order, as instruments to be used in the creation and government to follow an after the sun, moon, and stars, as petty gods, and the instruments of the othe order more principal. First, they say, were made waters, out of which, by th gods, were made all diversity of creatures that are visible or invisible. "For the origin of mankind, they say, a woman was made first, which, by th working of one of the gods, conceived and brought forth children; and s they had their beginning; but how many years or ages since, they know not having no records, but only tradition from father to son. They think that al gods are of human shape, and therefore represent them by images in the form of men; which they call Kawasowok; one alone is called Kewasa; them they place in their temples, where they worship, pray, sing, and make many of ferings. The common sort think them also gods. 66 They believe the immortality of the soul, when life departing from the body, according to the good or bad works it hath done, it is carried up to the Tabernacles of the Gods, to perpetual happiness, or to Popozeesso, a great pit: which they think to be at the fartherest parts of the world, where the sun sets, and there burn continually. "To confirm this they told me of two men, that had been lately dead, and revived again; the one happened but a few years before our coming into the country; of a bad man, who being dead and buried, the next day the earth over him being seen to move, was taken up, who told them his soul was very near entering into Popozeesso, had not one of the Gods saved him, and gave him leave to return again, to teach his friends what they should do to avoid such torment. The other happened the same year we were there, but sixty miles from us, which they told me for news, that one being dead, and buried, and taken up as the first, shewed, that although his body had lain dead in the grave, yet his soul lived, and had travelled far in a long broad way, on both sides whereof grew more sweet, fair, and delicate trees and fruits, than ever he had seen before; at length he came to most brave and fair houses, near which he met his Father that was dead long ago, who gave him charge to go back, to shew his friends what good there was to do, to enjoy the pleasures of that place; which when he had done he should come again. "What subtlety so ever be in the Weroanees, and Priests; this opinion worketh so much in the common sort, that they have great respect to their Governors; and as great care to avoid torment after death, and to enjoy bliss. Yet they have divers sorts of punishments, according to the offence, according to the greatness of the fact. And this is the sum of their religion, which I learned by having special familiarity with their priests, wherein they were not so sure grounded, nor gave such credit, but through conversing with us, they were brought into great doubts of their own, and no small admiration of ours: of which many desired to learn more than we had means, for want of utterance, in their language to express. "Most things they saw with us, as mathematical instruments, sea-compasses, the virtue of the loadstone, perspective glasses, burning glasses, clocks to go of themselves; books, writing, guns, and such like; so far exceeded their capacities, that they thought they were rather the works of gods than men; or at least the gods had taught us how to make them, which loved us so much better than them; and caused many of them to give credit to what we spake concerning our God. In all places where I came, I did my best to make his immortal glory known. And I told them, although the Bible I shewed them, contained all; yet of itself, it was not of any such virtue as I thought they did conceive. Notwithstanding many would be glad to touch it, to kiss, and embrace it, to hold it to their breasts, and heads, and stroke all their body over with it. "The King Wingina where we dwelt, would oft be with us at prayer. Twice he was exceeding sick and like to die. And doubting of any help from his priests, thinking he was in such danger for offending us and our God, sent for some of us to pray, and be a means to our God, he might live with him after death. And so did many others in the like case. One other strange accident (leaving others) will I mention before I end, which moved the whole country that either knew or heard of us, to have us in wonderful admiration. "There was no town where they had practised any villainy against us (we leaving it unpunished, because we sought by all possible means to win them by gentleness) but within a few days after our departure, they began to die; in some towns twenty, in some forty, in some sixty, and in one an hundred and twenty, which was very many in respect of their numbers. And this happened in no place (we could learn) where we had been, but where they had used some practice to betray us. And this disease was so strange, they neither knew what it was, nor how to cure it; nor had they known the like, time out of mind; a thing specially observed by us, as also by themselves, in somuch that some of them who were our friends, especially Wingina, had observed such effects in four or five towns, that they were persuaded it was the work of God through our means; and that we by him might kill and slay whom we would, without weapons, and not come near them. And thereupon, when they had any understanding, that any of their enemies had abused us in our journies, they would intreat us, we would be a means to our God, that they, as the others that had dealt ill with us, might die in like sort although we shewed them their requests were ungodly; and that our God would not subject himself to any such requests of men, but all things as he pleased came to pass : and that we to shew ourselves his true servants, ought rather to pray for the contrary: yet because the effect fell out so suddenly after, according to their desires, they thought it came to pass by our means, and would come give us thanks in their manner, that though we satisfied them not in words, yet in deeds we had fulfilled their desires. "This marvellous accident in all the country wrought so strange opinio us, that they could not tell whether to think us gods or men. And the ra that all the space of their sickness, there was no man of ours known to die much sick. They noted also we had no women, nor cared for any of thei some therefore thought we were not born of women, and therefore not mor but that we were men of an old generation many years past, and risen ag from immortality. Some would prophesy there were more of our generat yet to come, to kill theirs and take their places. Those that were to co after us they imagined to be in the air, yet invisible and without bodies; a that they by our intreaties, for love of us, did make the people die as they d by shooting invisible bullets into them. "To confirm this, their physicians to excuse their ignorance in curing t disease, would make the simple people believe, that the strings of blood th sucked out of the sick bodies, were the strings wherein the invisible bulle were tied, and cast. Some thought we shot them ourselves, from the pla where we dwelt, and killed the people that had offended us, as we listed, ho far soever. And others said it was the special work of God for our sakes, we had cause in some sort to think no less, whatever some do, or may in agine to the contrary; especially some Astrologers by the eclipse of the su we saw that year before our voyage, and by a comet which began to appea but a few days before the sickness began: but to exclude them from being th special causes of so special an accident, there are farther reasons than I thin fit to present or allege. "These their opinions I have set down, that you may see there is hope t embrace the truth, and honor, obey, fear and love us, by good dealing and government though some of our company towards the latter end, before wo came away with Sir Francis Drake, shewed themselves too furious, in slaying some of the people in some towns, upon causes that on our part might have been borne with more mildness; notwithstanding they justly had deserved it. The best, nevertheless, in this, as in all actions besides, is to be endeavored and hoped; and of the worst that may happen, notice to be taken with consideration; and as much as may be, eschewed; the better to allure them hereafter to civility and Christianity. Thus you see, how "Nature herself delights herself in sundry Instruments; "That sundry things be done to deck the earth with Ornaments; "Nor suffers she her servants all should run one race, "But wills the walk of every one frame in a divers pace; "That divers ways and divers works, the world might better grace. Written by Thomas Heriot, one of the voyage."* To return from this digression :- In 1586, Sir Walter Raleigh sent Sir Richard Grenville to America, with seven ships. He arrived at Wococon harbour in June. Having stationed a colony of more than an hundred people at Roanoke, under the direction of Capt. Ralph Lane, and furnished them with two years provisions, he coasted north-easterly as far as Chesapeak Bay, and thence returned to England. The colony under Capt. Lane endured extreme hardships, and must have perished, had not Sir Francis Drake fortunately returned to Virginia, and carried them to England, after having made several conquests for the queen in the West Indies and other places. * Smith's Hist. of Virginia, Vol. I. p. 82 to 99. A fortnight after, Sir Richard Grenville arrived with new recruits; and although he did not find the colony which he had before left, and knew not but they had perished, he had the rashness to leave 50 men at the same place. The year following, (1587) Sir Walter sent another company to Virginia, under Governor White, with a charter, and twelve assistants. In July he arrived at Roanoke. Not one of the second company reniained. They had been suddenly attacked by 300 Indians, who destroyed the greater part of them. The remainder fled to their boats, and were never after heard of. [Smith.] Gov. White, however, determined to risk a third colony, and accordingly left 115 people at the old settlement, and returned to England. This year, (Aug. 13) Manteo was baptized in Virginia, and called Lord of Dessamonpeack, in reward of his faithfulness. He was the first native Indian, who received that ordinance in that part of America. He, with Towaye, another Indian, had visited England, and returned home to Virginia with the colony. On the 18th of August, Mrs. Dare was delivered of a daughter, whom she called VIRGINIA. She was born at Roanoke, and was the first English child that was born in North America. In the year 1590, Governor White came over to Virginia with supplies and recruits for his colony; but, to his great grief, not a man was to be found. They had all miserably famished with hunger, or were massacred by the Indians. This was the last attempt to settle a colony in this unfortunate spot, or any other part of Virginia,* till 1602. In 1592 Juan de Fuca, a Greek, in the service of Spain, was sent by the viceroy of Mexico, to discover a N. W. passage, by exploring the western side of the American continent. He discovered a strait, on the eastern shore of the Pacific Ocean, which bears his name, in the 48th deg. N. lat. and supposed it to be the long desired passage. (Purchas,-Belknap.) De la Roche, in 1598, obtained from Henry IV. of France, a commission to conquer Canada, and other countries not possessed by any Christian Prince. He sailed from France with a company of convicts from the prisons; landed 40 on the Isle of Sable. Seven years after, the survivors, being 12 in number, were taken off and carried home to France; Henry pardoned them, and gave them 50 crowns each, as a recompense for their sufferings. (Purchas. Forster.) In the spring of 1602, Bartholomew Gosnold, with 32 persons, made a voyage to North Virginia, and discovered, and gave names, to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Elizabeth's Islands, and to Dover Cliff. Elizabeth Island was the place which they fixed on *Virginia was the name of the whole country at this time. for their first settlement. But the courage of those who were have remained, failing, they all went on board, and returned to E land. All the attempts to settle this continent, which were made the Dutch, French and English, from its discovery to the prese time, a period of 110 years, proved ineffectual. The Spaniards on of all the European nations, had been successful. There is no a count of there having been one European family, at this time, on the vast extent of coast from Florida to Greenland. Martin Pring and William Brown, in 1603, were sent by S Walter Raleigh, with two small vessels, to make discoveries in Nor Virginia. They came upon the coast, which was broken with a mu titude of islands, in latitude 43 deg. 30 min. north, in the present sta of Maine. They coasted southward to Cape Cod Bay; then round the Cape into a commodious harbour in 41 deg. 25 min. N. la where they went ashore and remained seven weeks, during whic time they loaded one of their vessels with sassafras, and returned t England. Capt. Smith states, that "as they ranged the coast, at place which they named Whitson's Bay, they were kindly used by th natives, who came to them in troops of from 10 to 50." Bartholomew Gilbert, in a voyage to South Virginia, in search o the third colony that had been left there by Governor White, in 1587 having touched at several of the West India Islands, landed nea Chesapeak Bay, where, in a skirmish with the Indians, he and four o his men were unfortunately slain. The rest, without any further search for the colony, returned to England. France, being at this time in a state of tranquillity, in consequence of the edict of Nantz in favour of the Protestants, passed by Henry IV. (April 1598) and of the peace with Philip, King of Spain and Portugal, was induced to pursue her discoveries in America. Accordingly the King signed a patent* in favour of De Mons, or Monts, (November 8, 1603) of all the country from 40th to 46th degree of north latitude, under the name of Acadia. The next year De Mons ranged the coast from St. Lawrence to Cape Sable, and round to Cape Cod, and began plantations at Port Royal, St. John's, and St. Croix in the Bay of Fundy. In May, 1605, George's Island and Pentecost Harbour were discovered by Capt. George Weymouth. In May he entered a large river, in latitude 43 deg. 20 min. (variation 11 deg. 15 min. west) supposed to be the Kennebec or Penobscot. Capt. Weymouth carried with him to England five of the natives, whom he delivered to Sir Ferdinando Gorges, then Governor of Plymouth. In 1606, (April 10th) James I. by patent,t divided Virginia into two colonies. The southern, included all lands between the 34th and 41st degrees of north latitude. This was styled the first colony, His. Coll. vol. i. page 45, Ibid. p. 50. |